Plymouth parents blast school committee over attempt to hide explicit sex ed curriculum
School Dept had limited parental review of materials to in person only on school property
At last night’s Plymouth School Committee meeting multiple Plymouth parents objected to the adoption of a video-based 8th grade sexual education curriculum they charged school officials had attempted to keep hidden from public inspection.
“I never thought I’d be speaking at a school committee meeting pleading with adults to not feed children a source that encourages sexual exploration, the use of pornography and masturbation, but here I am today to do exactly that,” Jessica Fitzgibbons told the Committee.
Kathy Bom Conselho, a mother of six children, said it took over a month to schedule an in person review of the curriculum because it was not available online or able to be sent by email.
Multiple members of the Plymouth School Committee asserted at last night’s meeting that the transparency issues had now been resolved and that the course had been significantly revised since first proposed.
Several parents objected to the inclusion of instruction from Amaze.org and references to Amaze’s YouTube Channel.
“They gave me a binder of information, in the binder was a print out, six slides per page, easily over a hundred pages…so I sat there and they [school staff] watched me read it for two hours,” Bom Conselho testified.
“Why is it so hard for parents to access this curriculum?” Bom Conselho asked.
According to Massachusetts Informed Parents the “threat to these families is the sexualization of children - in this case, through a new 8th grade sex ed curriculum.”
Plymouth plans to roll out the program to 8th graders this year and 6th and 7th grade next school year. Parents are able to opt-out their children from of the program up to one week prior to the start of the sex ed module. The district spent $56,000 for consultants to advise on the curriculum.